The Sark of the Slough
"''One paw splayed! Not two, not three. Not...not eighteen!"'' ''-The Sark to the chieftains; in Lone Wolf.'' The Sark of the Slough (usually known as just "the Sark") was a lone female dire wolf.She was said to have sarkish, or witch like powers. Sark is the Old Wolf word for witch. She lived in a cave with a fire pit, caribou pelts, potions, memory jugs, and herbs. The Sark lived in the marshy Slough part of the Beyond, hence her name "the Sark of the Slough". Many she-wolves come to her to start the forgetting, a period in which they try to forget about giving birth to a malcadh, so that the she-wolf can move on to a new clan, a new pack, a new mate, and have healthy pups. The Sark was born to the MacNab clan, yet was either abandoned by her mother, Amber, or purposely left behind. Description The Sark wasn't very pretty. In fact, she was blighted by one eye that seems to skitter to the side. And her fur was wild, as if not just her hackles, but her entire pelt, was in a constant state of alarm. If one could look closely at her eyes, if one eye was not so skittish, one could see that her eyes were not the same color. One was the true green of the wolves of the Beyond, while the other was amber, like an owl's. If she had these defects at birth, the Sark would have been claimed a ''malcadh''. Her fur color is still unknown. The Sark has a keen nose, unusally strong sense of smell. Family Amber MacNab- Birth Mother Three Unnamed Pups- Siblings Unnamed Male Wolf- Birth Father Rags- Younger brother History 'Lone Wolf' The Sark was a witch-like wolf who lived by herself and concocted various potions for mothers of malcadhs. ''She was called upon to get coals so that the other wolf clans could kill Faolan, who they thought had the "foaming-mouth disease". She is angry at herself afterwards for not asking for more evidence that Faolan was sick and yells at the wolves, calling them "idiots". 'Shadow Wolf The Sark is tending some pots when Faolan shows up and asks if his first milk giver had come to visit her. The Sark tells him that his mother never came to visit her, which she was glad she didn't have to lie, it was the truth. Faolan also tells her about the malcadh he saw. She already knows and tells him to be on his way. Later, Gwynneth tells her that the malcadh was murdered. The Sark wonders who could have done it and teams up with Gwynneth to look for a scent and find the murderer. But she smells someone coming, who happens to be Faolan's first milk mother, Morag, with Brangwen, and tells Gwynneth to come back later and they would start searching. Later, the Sark appears at Faolan's trial and reveals the true murderer as the one accusing Faolan of the murder, who, in the end, was Heep. She is also seen with Faolan when he confronts Heep when he tried to take Thunderheart's paw bone. In the last chapter, "A Prayer", she is at her den, first reporting the day's events into one of her memory jugs, then howling a prayer to Lupus for Morag. Watch Wolf The Sark is mentioned by Faolan when he and Edme are talking when they start their Slaan Leat. Faolan says to Edme that the Sark "Understands me in ways others do not". She also takes Faolan, along with Gwynneth to finally meet his first milk giver, Morag.﻿ Where she is said to have tears in her eyes. Frost Wolf The Sark is first seen in the chapter "Most Foul" eating slough tern eggs. She does not feel bad about eating them because they will never hatch. She brings coals from her kiln to make it easier to dig up the eggs. Later she thinks that she shouldn't have eaten them when she smelt her digestive activities. She is then seen at the Blood Watch, then seen with Faolan, Edme, Creakle, the "Whistler", and Gwynneth. She notes how the Prophet hesitates when Faolan is chasing him, much like how Liam MacDuncan hesitated during a byrrgis the Sark was taking part in. Spirit Wolf The Sark of the Slough in this book was first mentioned in the chapter "A Scarlet Rain". The Sark was with Gwynneth and Liam MacDuncan when the earthquake shook and Liam was killed. Later The Sark just wanted to return to her cave in the slough and see her memory jugs. The jugs were found shattered in the slough and she had lay there until Gwynneth came and then Faolan, Edme, Mhairie, Dearlea, and Myrrglosch. The Sark had probably more than likely died by her ripped flank after she had her memories of Amber. She is mentioned in the end of the book when they find a new constellation that looks like a memory jug. They named it "The Sark", after her. '''Star Wolf The Sark is seen taking Rags as a pup to a new mother, after his first two abandoned him. Rags described her as strange-looking, but very kind for an outclanner. Rumors The Wolves of the Beyond have, of course, spread rumors about the Sark. Some say she had been born so ugly, no wolf would mate with her. Considered barren she might have been asked to be Obea, but refused. It was then she decided to pursue her Sarkish practices and poke her snout into matters that were unnatural for a wolf. Others say she was born so beautiful, her own mother, a she-wolf with Sarkish powers, had cast a spell upon her in a fit of jealousy and resulted in her hideous face. If she had been born ugly, these defects would have considered her a ''malcadh'', but she refused to join a clan, a pack, and become a gnaw wolf. Instead, she decided to live a packless, clanless life. Her story is revealed in Spirit Wolf. These rumors have been revealed to be completely wrong. Her mother did not have Sarkish powers, only she was a malcadh inside with a twisted soul and heart. Personality The Sark is the only wolf that doesn't care for the submission rituals, or V&O, as she calls it. The Sark's personality is more owlish than wolf, and very rational. The Sark does not think that all of the wolf traditions are necessary. "The only thing the clans do that do make sense," the Sark says, "is the tradition with gnaw wolves." The Sark, although she's not much like a wolf, has hidden feelings of like that of the ancient wolf tradition, lochinvyrr, she wishes that she could do it better.The Sark is snappy when wolfs or owls ask unessasary questions Trivia *In the fifth book, Spirit Wolf, the Sark's story is told.﻿﻿ *In Old Wolf, the word "sark" means "witch". *The Sark does not like being around other wolves. *The Sark seems to appreciate being called "ma'am" by other wolves. *She came from the MacNab clan, which was her birth Clan. *Confirmed by Kathryn Lasky herself, the Sark was not born a malcadh, but born strange. Death The Sark died from a large gash in her flesh which caused blood loss. She died thinking of her brutal, yet beautiful mother, Amber MacNab. The Sark wanted no pelts to die on, only the shards of her beloved broken memory jugs. She died peacefully and happily. Category:Females Category:Lone Wolf Characters Category:Shadow Wolf Characters Category:Watch Wolf Characters Category:Lone Wolves Category:Main Characters Category:Characters Category:Frost Wolf Characters Category:Wolves Category:Spirit Wolf Characters Category:Wolves of the Beyond Category:Possibly dead Category:Deceased Characters Category:Star Wolf Category:Possibly a Star Wolf Category:Possibly a new constellation Category:Protagonists Category:MacNab Wolves